Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #364322
Title: The association of TV viewing during dinner meals with quality of dietary intake and BMI z-scores among low income ethnic minority preschool children

Author
item O'CONNOR, TERESIA - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC)
item ELIAS, CINDY - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC)
item THOMPSON, RALF - BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
item ARLINGHAUS, KATHERINE - UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
item VOLLRATH, KRISTIN - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC)
item HERNANDEZ, DAPHNE - UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
item POWER, THOMAS - WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY
item HUGHES, SHERYL - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC)

Submitted to: Appetite
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/18/2019
Publication Date: 5/20/2019
Citation: O'Connor, T.M., Elias, C., Thompson, R.R., Arlinghaus, K.R., Vollrath, K., Hernandez, D.C., Power, T.G., Hughes, S.O. 2019. The association of TV viewing during dinner meals with quality of dietary intake and BMI z-scores among low income ethnic minority preschool children. Appetite. 140:231-238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2019.05.023.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2019.05.023

Interpretive Summary: TV viewing has been associated with childhood obesity, but the mechanisms underlying this association are not well understood. To investigate one potential mechanism, this manuscript describes a secondary coding and analysis of dinner meals of low-income preschool aged children who attend Head Start to assess the association of watching TV during dinner with the dietary quality consumed at that meal and the weight status of the child. Three dinner meals were video-recorded among 144 African American and Hispanic children. The dietary quality of the meals that were served and what the child consumed were assessed using the Healthy Eating Index-2010. The child's height and weight were measured and parents completed questionnaires. The 428 video-recorded meals were coded for whether a TV was on during the meal, and how much of the meal the child spent watching TV. The analyses showed that 77% of the children consumed at least one of the observed meals with the TV on. When the TV was on, children spent on average 17.7% of the meal watching the TV. Having the TV on during the meal was not associated with the dietary quality of what the child ate at the dinner, except when adjusting for what the child was served. In this model, what the child was served at the meal was most strongly associated with what the child ate. The proportion of the meal the child watched TV was not associated with the dietary quality of the meal the child actually ate. Neither having the TV on, nor watching TV during the meal was associated with the child's weight status. These secondary analyses of video-recorded dinner meals of low-income ethnic minority children found that having the TV on during meals was common for low-income preschool aged children. Watching TV during dinner meals was not associated with the dietary quality of what the child consumed at that meal. Further research should evaluate if interventions to turn the TV off during meals has a positive influence on the quality of meals children consume.

Technical Abstract: TV viewing has been associated with children's weight status and is thought to be mediated mostly through children's dietary intake. However, the mechanisms underlying this association are not understood. We assessed the associations of having the TV on and the child watching TV during dinners with the dietary quality consumed at that meal and with the child's weight status. A secondary analysis of a directly-observed study of 144 preschool-aged African American and Hispanic, low-income children's dinner meals was conducted. Three home dinners were video recorded per child (428 meals observed) and what children were served and consumed measured. The Healthy Eating Index-2010 assessed dietary quality of dinners served and consumed. Child height and weight were measured and parents completed questionnaires. Videos were coded for whether the TV was on and the proportion of the dinner the child watched TV. Mixed models with meal observations nested within child assessed the associations. 77% of children consumed at least one dinner with the TV on. The proportion of the meal the child watched TV was not associated with lower dietary quality consumed. TV on was associated with the dietary quality consumed only in the fully adjusted model (p<0.05). The dietary quality of dinner served was most strongly associated with the dietary quality consumed (p<0.0001). Neither having the TV on nor child watching the TV while eating were associated with the child's BMI z-score. Having the TV on during meals was common, but watching TV during the meal was not associated with the dietary quality of what the children consumed. Further controlled studies should evaluate if turning the TV off during dinner directly improves the dietary quality children consume at that meal.